DVZ Loc: Littleton CO

I use ACDSee and if I upgraded with every new release it would cost as much as a subscription so it's not the cost and I've nothing against Adobe they have great products, an industry standard. However, if you have done a lot of raw development and change raw developers it's nice to have the old software to readjust those files if you ever want to. At some point, though as operating systems and hardware advance it will become obsolete. Even though the upgrades are usually very small and incremental and not that significant to me I still look forward to playing with new stuff.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Yes.

And that's why this model is becoming nearly universal across so many industries and specialties. The "lifetime purchase" (or what people THOUGHT was a purchase...) model was useful in early days to get people to adopt this newfangled computer stuff called "software", but it is ultimately unsustainable, I think, in most business and consumer applications. I might be wrong, but the market seems to be going this way.

Andy

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

That is true. I have ON1 and after I got there program they keep coming out with updates, some of which are free, but some are add-ons. No matter what, it seems like there are always going to be "Up-Grade" costs. It is non-ending.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

Are you sure? Looks like "Up-Dates" are free, but "Up-Grades" cost money. If you are already you can get a discount on an "Up-Grade", but it will still cost some, just not full price.

SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

I subscribed to Adobe Photo Shop and Lightroom for years. Dropped Adobe and moved to On 1 and am happy with On1. I upgraded from 2018 to 2019. With the introduction of On 1 2020 I plan of staying with On1 2019 and not upgrade since often these upgrades only introduce new often not too usable upgrades.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Unless you are hopelessly addicted to Adobe, it's certainly not the way that software has to be sold.

One of the nice things about Capture One Pro is that it is offered as a purchase with a perpetual license or as a subscription. Adobe wants to force you into the subscription option. The Capture One subscription is $15/month and some might think it's worth it. But you can buy the program and upgrade every two years to bring the cost down to about $5/month.

The other significant difference is that CO lets you use a catalog (like Lightroom) or you can use sessions and let your file manager handle the organization. Most other software let you use the file manager and this makes archiving and backup a lot easier.

ON1 is less expensive than either the Adobe or the Capture One option and if you upgrade every two years that's going to cost $3.33 per month.

We know that, "The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance." Read the release notes. If you don't see something in them that you absolutely have to have, you don't need to upgrade at all. I am still using MS Office Pro 2010 (it includes MS Access) and I doubt that I will ever need to upgrade.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I prefer the Adobe package but I’m not so wedded that I wouldn’t be able to switch if the cost got too high.

We had to ditch Office 2010 on our last remaining computers at work because it had major security holes. I don’t want to have to worry about that on my laptop, and seven bucks a month is well within my budget. I understand why many don’t like that subscription model, but it’s not likely to go away. Just makes too much economic sense.

Andy

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I can understand why a company might be nervous about security risks. But an individual is not much of a target.

DVZ Loc: Littleton CO

I doubt it will go away with Adobe but they've gotten so much crap for it and much of the competition has taken advantage of it that probably a lot of them will not adopt this model. Even though if you buy every upgrade of non-subscription software you'll be near the same price. We use a lot of software in my office and me personally and not very many of them are subscription except the virus and malware software. Just saying they are all going that direction don't make it so.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

If an individual uses Office to access company servers, or their own bank accounts via email, it’s still a big risk. We had a $30,000 hack/theft last month and would have lost another $30k had I not been using the latest version of Office. The leak occurred on the CEO’s laptop, while being used on a hotel network. He was using Office 2010.

I caught it when my Outlook reported that a new inbox rule had been set for his mailbox. After $12k worth of security forensics, the resulting report required that we all go to the latest subscription version if we want to keep our cyber policy.

He also has had to change all of his personal accounts- the Nigerian hackers have his passwords and security answers. I don’t want to ever go through that again - already been there from the Experian hack. Fortunately, I bank with a small local bank, and they restored all my money in less than 24 hours.

I’m not using anything but the latest subscription versions on any software that can jeopardize my security.

Andy

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

We use AutoCAD, Office, and proprietary programs for lending, government regulatory compliance reporting, property management, and construction spec writing.

All are now subscription based, as is our anti virus and malware program. I’m sure other industries may differ.

Andy

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Another reason why I stopped using Outlook 15 years ago. Since I’m retired I have only myself to look out for.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Good choice in your circumstances.

The sophistication of these spear-phishers is amazing. I have heard of several individuals and small businesses who have fallen victim since this hurricane hit us.

Andy

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

If we can get the robocalls to stop I will be even happier.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Hell yeah!

I still don’t understand all of the hangup calls I get.

Andy